Story boarding
A story board is a series of rough sketches that show the major changes of action or plot to be shot on film or video. In order to make a professional looking video, it is important to plan your video with a story board first. There are many different ways to draw a story board. The most common way is to draw panels that resemble a comic book, with important scenes and dialogue included, along with directions for how the camera and actors will move.
MOST IMPORTANT: MOVE THE CAMERA AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. It is what happens in front of the camera that is most important. The next time you watch TV watch carefully how smooth the camera moves, if it moves at all. Usually if the camera is going to show you something new, the camera will cut, or jump from one thing to the next, it will not show the camera moving. This is done by either starting and stopping the recording, or by cutting out unwanted video with an editing program such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.
Use a tripod whenever possible. Hand held shots are shaky and can actually make people sick or dizzy watching them.
(Links to external reference material)
Basic Camera Anatomy - rememeber not all cameras are the same.
Shot language
Lighting - how you light your scene is the biggest difference between amateur and professional video.
Sound recording (Audio)
Story boarding
A story board is a series of rough sketches that show the major changes of action or plot to be shot on film or video. In order to make a professional looking video, it is important to plan your video with a story board first. There are many different ways to draw a story board. The most common way is to draw panels that resemble a comic book, with important scenes and dialogue included, along with directions for how the camera and actors will move.
MOST IMPORTANT: MOVE THE CAMERA AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. It is what happens in front of the camera that is most important. The next time you watch TV watch carefully how smooth the camera moves, if it moves at all. Usually if the camera is going to show you something new, the camera will cut, or jump from one thing to the next, it will not show the camera moving. This is done by either starting and stopping the recording, or by cutting out unwanted video with an editing program such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.
Use a tripod whenever possible. Hand held shots are shaky and can actually make people sick or dizzy watching them.
Example story boards...
Blank story board template
Completed story board and sample project